Seven tips to help you hitthe ground running in virtualreality and 360-degreefilmmaking. BY GREG SCOBLETE

PICTURED: Ricoh’s Theta is a
popular choice for those just
getting started in 360-degree
filmmaking.

IRTUAL REALITY AND 360-DEGREE FILMMAKING sound daunting,but they don’t have to be. As filmmaker and VR maven Lucas Wilsonof Supersphere Productions once told us, if you can shoot traditionalvideo, you can shoot VR. Here are a few tips to get your feet wet.

STAY CLOSE

Cameras like the Theta and KeyMission use wide-angle lenses to ensure the broadest possiblereach, so it’s best to keep subjects up close andpersonal lest they get lost in the background.

Subjects further than 10 to 15 feet are likely
too far away to be engaging to the viewer.

STAY SMOOTH
AND EYE LEVEL

Filmmaking 101 dictates that you
keep your camera steady using a tripod,
monopod or other stabilizer, and that’s
doubly important in VR. Even the most
infinitesimal camera shake can be nauseating.

What’s more, it’s important to remember that
while interesting camera angles can make for
striking scenes in traditional filmmaking, VR event
filmmaking is usually meant to simulate “being there,”
so the perspective should more closely resemble what
a human who was actually “there” would see. In other
words, keep your VR camera at eye-level, or close to it.